Antisocial behaviour and teacher–student relationship quality: The role of emotion‐related abilities and callous–unemotional traits

Background: Childhood antisocial behaviour has been associated with poorer teacher-student relationship (TSR) quality. It is also well-established that youth with antisocial behaviour have a range of emotion-related deficits, yet the impact of these students’ emotion-related abilities on the TSR is not understood. Furthermore, the addition of the Limited Prosocial Emotions specifier in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) indicates that understanding the role of callous-unemotional (CU) traits for youth with antisocial behaviour problems is of particular importance. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between antisocial behaviour difficulties and the TSR by examining the influence of emotion-related abilities and CU traits. Sample: Twelve teachers from 10 primary schools provided anonymised information on 108 children aged 6-11 years. Results: Antisocial behaviour was associated with higher teacher-student conflict (but not closeness) as well as higher emotion lability/negativity and lower emotion understanding/empathy. Emotion lability/negativity was associated with higher teacher-student conflict (but not closeness), and emotion understanding/empathy was associated with lower teacher-student conflict and higher closeness. CU traits was associated with higher teacher-student conflict and lower teacher-student closeness (controlling for antisocial behaviour more broadly). We found no evidence of a moderating effect of CU traits or emotion-related abilities on the association between antisocial behaviour and TSR quality. Conclusions: Interventions for behaviour difficulties should consider teacher-student relationships in the classroom. Strategies which aim to improve teacher-student closeness as well as reduce teacher-student conflict may be of particular value to students with high CU traits

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations

Development of B-lineage Predominant Lentiviral Vectors for Use in Genetic Therapies for B Cell Disorders

Sustained, targeted, high-level transgene expression in primary B lymphocytes may be useful for gene therapy in B cell disorders. We developed several candidate B-lineage predominant self-inactivating lentiviral vectors (LV) containing alternative enhancer/promoter elements including: the immunoglobulin β (Igβ) (B29) promoter combined with the immunoglobulin µ enhancer (EµB29); and the endogenous BTK promoter with or without Eµ (EµBtkp or Btkp). LV-driven enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter expression was evaluated in cell lines and primary cells derived from human or murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). In murine primary cells, EµB29 and EµBtkp LV-mediated high-level expression in immature and mature B cells compared with all other lineages. Expression increased with B cell maturation and was maintained in peripheral subsets. Expression in T and myeloid cells was much lower in percentage and intensity. Similarly, both EµB29 and EµBtkp LV exhibited high-level activity in human primary B cells. In contrast to EµB29, Btkp and EµBtkp LV also exhibited modest activity in myeloid cells, consistent with the expression profile of endogenous Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk). Notably, EµB29 and EµBtkp activity was superior in all expression models to an alternative, B-lineage targeted vector containing the EµS.CD19 enhancer/promoter. In summary, EµB29 and EµBtkp LV comprise efficient delivery platforms for gene expression in B-lineage cells

The Role of Soft Robotic Micromachines in the Future of Medical Devices and Personalized Medicine

Developments in medical device design result in advances in wearable technologies, minimally invasive surgical techniques, and patient-specific approaches to medicine. In this review, we analyze the trajectory of biomedical and engineering approaches to soft robotics for healthcare applications. We review current literature across spatial scales and biocompatibility, focusing on engineering done at the biotic-abiotic interface. From traditional techniques for robot design to advances in tunable material chemistry, we look broadly at the field for opportunities to advance healthcare solutions in the future. We present an extracellular matrix-based robotic actuator and propose how biomaterials and proteins may influence the future of medical device design

The tec kinase-regulated phosphoproteome reveals a mechanism for the regulation of inhibitory signals in murine macrophages

Previous work has shown conflicting roles for Tec family kinases in regulation of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-dependent signalling in myeloid cells. In the present study, we performed a detailed investigation of the role of Btk and Tec kinases in regulating TLR signalling in several types of primary murine macrophages. We demonstrate that primary resident peritoneal macrophages deficient for Btk and Tec secrete less pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to TLR stimulation than wild type cells. In contrast, we found that bone marrow-derived and thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages deficient for Btk and Tec secrete more pro-inflammatory cytokines than wild type cells. We then compared the phosphoproteome regulated by Tec kinases and lipopolysaccharide in primary peritoneal and bone marrow derived macrophages. From this analysis we determined that Tec kinases regulate different signalling programs in these cell types. In additional studies using bone marrow-derived macrophages, we find that Tec and Btk promote phosphorylation events necessary for immunoreceptor-mediated inhibition of TLR signalling. Taken together, our results are consistent with a model where Tec kinases (Btk, Tec, Bmx) are required for TLR-dependent signalling in many types of myeloid cells. However, our data also support a cell type-specific TLR-inhibitory role for Btk and Tec that is mediated by immunoreceptor activation and signalling via PI3K

Pristane-Accelerated Autoimmune Disease in (SWR X NZB) F1 Mice Leads to Prominent Tubulointerstitial Inflammation and Human Lupus Nephritis-Like Fibrosis

<div><p>Mouse models lupus nephritis (LN) have provided important insights into disease pathogenesis, although none have been able to recapitulate all features of the human disease. Using comprehensive longitudinal analyses, we characterized a novel accelerated mouse model of lupus using pristane treatment in SNF1 (SWR X NZB F1) lupus prone mice (pristane-SNF1 mice). Pristane treatment in SNF1 mice accelerated the onset and progression of proteinuria, autoantibody production, immune complex deposition and development of renal lesions. At week 14, the pristane-SNF1 model recapitulated kidney disease parameters and molecular signatures seen in spontaneous disease in 36 week-old SNF1 mice and in a traditional IFNα-accelerated NZB X NZW F1 (BWF1) model. Blood transcriptome analysis revealed interferon, plasma cell, neutrophil, T-cell and protein synthesis signatures in the pristane-SNF1 model, all known to be present in the human disease. The pristane-SNF1 model appears to be particularly useful for preclinical research, robustly exhibiting many characteristics reminiscent of human disease. These include i) a stronger upregulation of the cytosolic nucleic acid sensing pathway, which is thought to be key component of the pathogenesis of the human disease, and ii) more prominent kidney interstitial inflammation and fibrosis, which have been both associated with poor prognosis in human LN. To our knowledge, this is the only accelerated model of LN that exhibits a robust tubulointerstitial inflammatory and fibrosis response. Taken together our data show that the pristane-SNF1 model is a novel accelerated model of LN with key features similar to human disease.</p></div